Volusia deputy, K-9 find mobile meth lab during traffic stop

A deputy dog sniffed out a car in a Friday traffic stop in Deltona and found muriatic acid, Coleman camp fuel and other elements used to make methamphetamine.

Two passengers inside the mobile meth lab — Billy Hayes, 42, and Jason Knope, 31 — were arrested and sent to Volusia County Jail on various drug charges, including methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia possession.

Volusia County deputies did not provide any information about the driver of the car.

When a deputy pulled over the car around 4 p.m. near Courtland and Fort Smith boulevards, he noticed that everyone in the car "appeared quite nervous and avoided making direct eye contact," an incident report said.

He then called a K-9 unit to the scene.

That's when he learned that drugs were inside the car.

"A search of the car turned up a backpack in the trunk along with a bottle of muriatic acid and Coleman brand camp fuel, two common elements used in the production of meth," the report said.

More meth materials were found inside the backpack — including a plastic hose and funnel, drain opener, table salt, coffee filters, ice packs, and two syringes that contained traces of meth.

Hayes told deputies that the backpack was his, and that he knew what materials were inside.